The New York Times has won the Gold Medal and Best in Show awards from the Society of News Design (SND) for its coverage of the Haiti earthquake tragedy. The organization awarded the Times these honors for being the excelling past the competition in its Best of Digital Design contest.

Last month a panel at Ball State University considered 150 entries, which was pared down from over 500. In the end, the Times’ coverage of the earthquake and the aftermath stood above the rest, according to a SND press release obtained by Jim Romenesko:

The technical sophistication, range of disciplines and timeliness evident in the pieces makes this body of work the best of the competition. The design fell away and simply facilitated the experience. The sum total of this work was deeply touching and deeply immersive. It is the height of the use of technology in presenting journalism.